**LEAD STORY** ENN 6/1/96 08:03CDT
PALMERSTON, AUSTRALIA (ENN) - A man armed with a pump action shotgun went on a shooting rampage in northern Australia during the early hours on Saturday. Four police officers, one civilian and the suspect were wounded. Police constables were able to capture the suspect after a fierce gun battle in the town of Palmerston, which is located about 12 miles south of the city of Darwin.
The five hour incident began at about midnight when officers responded to a call of shots fired near a house in the town of Woodroffe. Three police cars were sent to the call. While officers were talking to the complaintant in the backyard of his home, the gunman, who was hiding in some brush, opened fired. Wounded were a 33-year-old female constable and the civilian complaintant. Officers returned fire, but the attacker was able to flee. More than 30 police officers and members of the Territory Response Group converged onto the area and searched for hours, but the suspect was able to escape.
At about 5:00 a.m. the man turned up in central Palmerston at a police station. There, he shot up several police vehicles and again fled. Police converged into the central business district of the town and began a search. The gunman was able to ambush four Response Group officers as they got out of their car near a McDonald's restaurant. Two officers were shot and a fierce gun battle, that lasted several minutes, erupted.
Police reinforcements poured into the scene during the shootout. An ambulance was involved in an accident when it hit a car while trying to reverse from the scene of the gun battle. A stun grenade was thrown at the suspect and he was shot in the right arm, after it went off. Police finally took the gunman into custody.
A police spokesman said that all three police officers and the civilian, who were shot, are in stable condition. The 33-year-old female officer was shot in the chest and buttocks. A 31-year-old senior constable, who is part of the Territory Response Group, sustained gunshot wounds to the shoulder and elbow. A 31-year-old Response Group sergeant was shot in the thigh. The 31-year-old civilian complaintant suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and right shoulder. He also had a punctured lung. A fourth police officer was only slightly wounded.
The motive for the attacks is not known. A police commander in Darwin said, "Clearly this was an extremely dangerous situation. It had the potential to escalate further."
(c) Emergencynet News Service, 1996, All rights reserved.